Solar photovoltaic cells convert sunlight into electricity and many solar photovoltaic power stations have been built, mainly in Europe. As of September 2010, the largest photovoltaic (PV) power plants in the world are the Sarnia Photovoltaic Power Plant (Canada, 80 MW), Olmedilla Photovoltaic Park (Spain, 60 MW), the Strasskirchen Solar Park (Germany, 54 MW), the Lieberose Photovoltaic Park (Germany, 53 MW), the Puertollano Photovoltaic Park (Spain, 50 MW), the Moura Photovoltaic Power Station (Portugal, 46 MW), and the Waldpolenz Solar Park (Germany, 40 MW).[1]

This proposal is for setting up a 50 MW (10 MW x 5 Phases) capacity solar photovoltaic power plant based on latest High Power Modules using cells consisting of Multi-Crystalline Silicon Technology / Tandem Junction Thin Film Technology, which has been successfully developed for commercial implementation and has been delivering reliable power generation around the world for some years now. The solar photovoltaic power project is proposed to be set up in Jodhpur district of Rajasthan, India which is one of the best suited locations in terms of higher annual direct normal insolation (DNI), favourable climatic conditions and land availability Some photovoltaic power stations which are presently proposed will have a capacity of 150 MW or more.

Many of these plants are integrated with agriculture and some use innovative tracking systems that follow the sun's daily path across the sky to generate more electricity than conventional fixed-mounted systems. There are no fuel costs or emissions during operation of the power stations.

AIM

This proposal examines the techniques of project management used in development of a solar photovoltaic power plant Project. The background of the project will be described including its planning, Execution, Operation & Maintenance and Financial analysis a project; critical success factors for the project implementation are identified presenting an overview of project structure, methods, risks, etc.

Objectives

The objectives for the project are the successful completion of solar photovoltaic power plant, on budget, on time and safely. The objectives are also to develop ‘world class’ project management best practices within the solar industry.

Research Methodology

The PMBOK Guide states that projects are composed of two kinds of process: project management processes and product-oriented processes (which specify and create the project product). Project management processes are further divided into initiating, planning, execution, controlling and closing processes. This proposal mainly concentrates on the core processes of planning, execution and controlling.

The project management process groups depicted in figure 1 are initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing. Initiating defines and authorizes the project or a project phase. Planning defines and refines objectives and plans the course of action required to attain the objectives and scope that the project was undertaken to address. Executing integrates people and other resources to carry out the project management plan for the project. Monitoring and controlling regularly measures and monitors progress to identify variances from the project management plan so that corrective action can be taken when necessary to meet project objectives. Closing formalizes acceptance of the product, service, or result and brings the project or a project phase to an orderly end. Figure illustrates the relative depth, breadth, and interrelationship between these process groups.

Planning

Planning in organizations constitutes both the organizational process of creating and maintaining a plan; and the psychological process of thinking about the activities required to create a desired goal on some scale. As such, it is a fundamental property of intelligent behaviour. This thought process is essential to the creation and refinement of a plan or integration of it with other plans. It combines forecasting of developments with the preparation of scenarios of how to react to them. An important albeit often ignored aspect of planning, is the relationship it holds with forecasting. Forecasting can be described as predicting what the future will look like, whereas planning predicts what the future should look like.

The above scenario is often used to describe the formal procedures used in the creation of documents, endeavour, diagrams, meetings to discuss the important issues to be addressed, objectives to be met and the strategy to be followed. Beyond this planning has a different meaning depending on the political or economic context in which it is used.

Executing consists of the process used to complete the work defined in the project management plan to accomplish the project's requirements. Execution process involves coordinating people and resources as well as integrating and performing the activities of the project in accordance with the project management plan. The deliverables are produced as outputs from the processes performed as defined in the project management plan.

This must be done in an integrated manner at regular intervals, not in a haphazard, arbitrary way. Any significant departures from the budget and the schedule must be reported immediately, because these anomalies affect the viability and the success of the entire project.

This will lead to adapting the project schedule, budget and/or work plan as necessary to keep the project on track. The project progress and changes must be documented and communicated to the team members in a consistent, reliable and appropriate manner for each level of the project team.

The proposed plant shall comprise High Power Modules using cells consisting of Multi-Crystalline Silicon Technology / Tandem Junction Thin Film Technology. Efficiency is varying from 6% - 18%. Temperatures beyond 25oC have nominal effect on the efficiency of the modules. White Tempered Glass, EVA Resin and weather proof film along with Al frame is used for extended outdoor use. Lead wire with weather proof connector shall be used for output terminal.

Both the technologies are standalone type which needs no external power or water source and hence is most appropriate for desert region of Rajasthan. Small amount of processed water or compressed air is required only for cleaning of the system.

The 89 pet watts of sunlight reaching the Earth's surface is plentiful - almost 6,000 times more than the 15 terawatts equivalent of average power consumed by humans. Additionally, solar electric generation has the highest power density (global mean of 170 W/m²) among renewable energies.

Solar power is pollution-free during use. Production end-wastes and emissions are manageable using existing pollution controls. End-of-use recycling technologies are under development.

PV installations can operate for many years with little maintenance or intervention after their initial set-up, so after the initial capital cost of building any solar power plant, operating costs are extremely low compared to existing power technologies.

When grid-connected, solar electric generation replaces some or all of the highest-cost electricity used during times of peak demand (in most climatic regions). This can reduce grid loading, and can eliminate the need for local battery power to provide for use in times of darkness. These features are enabled by net metering. Time-of-use net metering can be highly favourable, but requires newer electronic metering, which may still be impractical for some users.